Riverside California. No much going on!

Today was a free day in riverside.  I contemplated going into Los Angeles Downtown, but the train journey was too long and the locals told me that there was not much there unless I wanted to go to Hollywood which was another half hour away.  I though I might have a look around Riverside and see what life was like.  I caught a taxi down to the main district with the intention to take a few photos.  Unfortunately, it isn't very scenic- at all!  It is just a sprawl of freeways, palm trees and smog.  It was hot too. I am looking forward to visiting the school and catching the plane home.  This will probably be my last blog post in the USA! We Fly out tommorow afternoon (thursday) from LAX and arrive on Saturday.
Here are some pictures from the day:

A traditional diner

A telephone pole that was rust coloured because of all the staples!

Riverside Streetscape

The Marriott Hotel where I am staying

A $1 hamburger

There were four police cars in a carpark, unoccupied and with their motors running.  When I looked arouund I saw about 8 police officers all eating hamburgers in the nearest junk food restuarant

An illuminated street sign.

Arizona to Riverside

Today I finished up at the conference and went from Arizona to Riverside which is a county near Los Angeles in California.  The plane flight was good and I sat next to a lady who lived near Riverside. She told me all about the neighbourhood.  The plane was very old though, it even had ashtrays! The Marriott hotel is where we are staying and it is much nicer than Phoenix. We checked into the motel just in time to see the sun go down form the third floor where our roomis located. Below are some photos from the day:

Phoenix Airport

Inside Ontario Airport

My bag arrived safe and sound!

Ontario Airport Los Angeles

The Overpasses in Los Angeles

Sunset in California.

Arizona Conference day 2

Today was a hard day at work.  It began at 7.00 and finished at 11.00!   Most of the day was taken up by attending workshops and seminars.  Some were interesting and some were hard to stay awake in. There were no breaks, even lunch was a working session!  You wouldn't get that in Australia.  Dinner was a very fancy affair housed in the Cardinals Stadium.  There was a band and buffet meal.  It was good to eat vegetables and food that did not have added sugar! After the dinner we headed home to pack.  Tommorow we fly into Los Angeles and will spend the night there.  We have a day to spend in Los Angeles.  I'm not sure what I will do there.  I will look at the brochures in the motel and see tommorow night.  Apparently it doesnt really have much of a city centre like Arizona.  So it will be interesting to see what is around!
below are some videosof the conference and the stadium to give you a bit of an idea what it was like.

Day two in Arizona. The Virtual Schools Symposium Conference.

Today was back at work again.  It is Sunday here and we spent the day at the conference. Before that we went quickly to Old Navy and Best Buys. We arrived at the Rennisance Hotel, which is right next door to the Cardinals Stadium.  The Stadium is massive.  Today there was a major game on and everyone gets there early and sets up tents in the car park and has BBQs.  Apparently the Cardinals lost, which dissapointed the locals.  Around the stadium is a whole little city.  It is all on a much bigger scale than the MCG.  There is a little shopping centre with ridiculous billboards and lights everywhere.  At the conference they had a trade show in the evening where vendors promote their products and give away things.  I got a T-shirt, 3 USB drives, a pair of sunglasses, a backpack, drink bottle (a good one!) notepads, tape measures and a whole lot of other things I dont need!  I will have to chuck a bit out as it all adds to my weight taking things home.  I may use the backpack as carry-on luggage and check in my big backpack if i weigh too much. Tommorow is an early start at 7.00!  It will go until late (I thought today would go later but luckily it didnt). Below are some photos of the day:

The Renaisance hotel- Where the Conference is held.

All the goodies!

The shopping centre.

The Corridor of the Hotel

The Lobby of the Rennaisance Hotel!

The front of the stadium

The shopping centre near the stadium

Arizona - Sedona,Grand Canyon,Hopi Reservation.

Today was an early start. we left at 7.00 in a bus we had charted and had a guide named Dave.  He had lived in the area most of his life and was a wealth of information.  Over the day we went from an altitude of 90ft above sea level to8046 ft above sea level when we went over the San Fransisco peaks. Over the course of the day we travelled through cactus filled deserts, through elm groves and through snow. We headed first for Sendoa (via the (Navaho nation), which is a major location form many western movies.  There are five key rock formations; Castle Rock, Bell Rock, Courthouse Butte, Lee Mountain and Cathedral Rock.

Bell Rock

A drive in booth for Junk Food.  The meal is brought out to you in your car!

Sedona

A desert cactus!

After Sedona, we continued on our way.  We had a short stop over to stretch our legs near a small stream below:



Next we headed through the San Fransisco, which is an amazing contrast, featuring pine and elm forests and snow.

The next stop was at the petrol station.  The sign on the door helped remind us where we were!

Finally we arrived at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  It was a 3 Hr drive and the view was stunning. Pictures ccnnot do justice the immense size and scaleof it! It covers 446 river miles long and is up to 29km wide and 1.6 km deep! The geological formations that it depicts are very interesting, but also the area is rich with widelife.  Elks, deer, squirrels, and an array of birdlife are all within reach.  The snow was scattered about in pockets all around.

Below are someof my photos.  I have taken a series of photos which I hope to stich into a panorama when I get home.

An elk at the grand Canyon

We headed across to the Navaho Indian reservation, which comprised of little less than trailers and portable buildings.  They live a meagre existence.  The gift shop below was very well finished though!



Concorde Indian Reservation



An American Postbox!

We left the reservation and headed off on a 3 and a half hour drive back.  In all, it was a tiring day- but one which was an incredible experience which I will probably not encounter again!

Travel from Boise to Phoenix Arizona

Today was our last day in Idaho and the first in Arizona.  We got to the aiport to check in. I saw a shoe shine stand.  I got my photo taken, but the man didnt press the button properly and it didnt take. They are very big on the war in Afganistan here ane there are signs everywhere like in the picture below:

 The plane flight out was good, and it was interesing to see the difference between the landscape as we flew over.  It went from snow-cappedmountaints to flat desert.  The entrance to Phoenix was very spectacular.  I didn't realise a city could be this big.  It is one big urban sprawl in the flat desert. Tommorow I am going to the Grand Canyon, Sedona and an Indian Reservation.

Day Four in Boise Idaho

Today I got to see a few of the sight around the town.  I hired out a bike and was able to ride it along the river to see the sights including the Boise State University and the foot of the mountains.  Riding a bike on the roads was a challenge, in particular remembering to stay on the left hand side of the road.  Also turning corners is hard because it is easy to turn left the way we do in Australia- straight into on-coming traffic!  I'm glad I don't have to drive a car.  The wildlife was out everywhere today.  I saw plenty of squirrels running around and there were even two deer in the centre of town.  Along the river there were plenty of people fishing and they were catching trout about two feet long. I had a club sandwich for lunch which was very tasty.  After lunch we went to the shopping centre which is out of town.


 There are very few shops in the middle of town; it seems to be mainly banks and specialty stores. There are certainly no department style stores. I guess it is because people prefer to shop in-doors as it is bitterly cold outside.  It is very cold today, -2 when I got up.  It is not usually windy, but when it is-it cuts right through your clothing.  It is a different cold to Bendigo; more crisp- just like being at the snow. The people in the shops at the shopping centre were very nice and really go out of your way to help you.  I need a bit of help working out their coins. I now know that a penny is one cent, a quarter is 25 cents, a dime is 10 cents and a nickel is five cents. It is confusing because the 10 cent coin is smaller than the 5 cent coin and looks about the same size as our 5 cents! Anyway, there were lots of shops that we don’t have, but it apart from that, it was really similar to the shopping centres back home. 



Tomorrow we head to the airport at 10.30 to fly out to Arizona. I am hoping to have a look at the museum, which is a block up the road before I go. They tell us Arizona is much warmer than here and we won't need to rug up as much. 



Standing next to the police car outside the motel.



The Bike I hired to see the city

Me standing next to Abraham Lincoln

People fishing in the river.  This is directly opposite the football stadium!!

A Frosty Start to the Day

A very old glass shop window.

Newspaper stand that seem to be on most streets in the city

A close-up of a newspaper stand.  I have not seen a newsagent!

A fire Hydrant

A DVD rental vending Machine!

A yellow taxi!

The Boise State Football Stadium - complete with Blue Grass!



If you look carefully,  you will see a squirell!

Deer on the loose!